Posts Tagged “Loving v. Virginia”

Remember the good old days of marriage when all you had to worry about choosing was a centerpiece and whether or not to invite that annoying second cousin on your mother’s side of the family? These days, as the battle for national recognition of same-sex marriage rages on, choosing what state you get married in is more important than ever—and not just the venue.

What very few heterosexual people know and, shockingly, very few gay people realize, is that while 18 states will now grant and recognize same-sex marriages, they almost all have residency requirements, often for up to a year, in order to file for a divorce—essentially leaving a couple “wedlocked.” Your state of celebration and state of residence might not see eye to eye on the issue of same-sex marriage and, while the federal government will now recognize your nuptials after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional because it violated Fifth Amendment rights in United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013), you could find yourself wedlocked if you do not choose wisely.

About Angela

Angela D. Giampolo, known as PhillyGayLawyer, is an attorney, avid entrepreneur, and advocate for the LGBT community. She started her own law firm Giampolo Law Group (GLG) in 2008 with the intention of providing a safe place for the LGBT community to service all of their legal needs with practice areas including business law, LGBT law, family law, real estate, and international law.
Angela is an active columnist for Philadelphia Gay News, The Legal Intelligencer, and Philadelphia Business Journal, and maintains a blog www.phillygaylawyer.com that serves as a valuable resource for LGBT legal updates. She has appeared as a legal analyst for LGBT issues on Fox Radio, NPR, WHYY amd America Weekend and she is currently developing a LGBT specific radio show with Q102 Producer Loraine Ballard Morrill called SpeakOUT. As an active member in the community she serves as Chair of the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia (GALLOP), is on the board of the Liberty City Democratic club, International Visitors Center and the National Adoption Center.